Week 10
This week, I have decided to take a different pathway to my research project outcome. Initially I planned on doing an academic research essay/report but now after understanding my options aren't just limitted to an essay or a report, I have decided to do something much more engaging and requires creative thinking. As in year 12, majority of my research tasks will be in the essay/report format, I have decided to use the research project as an opportunity to create something that I normally wouldn't be able to in other subjects - a magazine. My magazine will be based on anxiety disorders and will be designed for a teenage audience (context). I will aim to have 1500 words in this magazine so this will really test my text-condensing ability; only having the critical and key ideas in this magazine. My current plan is:
1. Front page - title page
2. Contents page - list of what is in the magazine itself which will not be included in the 1500 word count.
3. Explanation of anxiety and its effect on brain.
4. Generalised Anxiety disorders - what is it, symptoms
5. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - what is it, symptoms
6. Phobias - what is it, symptoms
7. Post traumatic stress disorder - what is it, symptoms
8. Statistical graphs on each of the anxiety disorders
9. List of techniques to reduce Anxiety
10. List of support agencies
That is my rough plan and I will need to start filling each of the documents with the corresponding information and research.
My current main source of information will be from www.beyondblue.org and www.youthbeyondblue.com - these two sites are extremely helpful and have a reputation of spreading awareness of depression and anxiety amongst youths and adults alike. This is where i got the 4 different types of anxiety disorders (refer to 4,5,6,7 above)
As my research path has changed yet again, I will need to edit my proposal and keep it regulary updated. I will also need to start documenting my research outcome process and I will start by designing the outline of my magazine.
Week 9
This week I have changed my topic from Suicide to Anxiety Disorders. My suicide methodoligy was unethical and it would be too time consuming for me to chase up a teacher to modify my topic around which would eventually be something I'm not interested in. Therefore, instead of potentially modifying it to something I'm not interested in and wasting more time, I decided to changed my topic to Anxiety Disorders. It's something that is interesting to me and can relate to the real world in education and work environment. So in initiating the new topic and planning, I have developed a brief plan which I have uploaded below.
I'm quite annoyed. I'm back to square 1 in my research and there is 2 weeks until the first draft it due. I honestly don't know how I am going to cope. I honestly would rather do another half year subject instead of the RP.
So here is my brief plan. I will need to come up with a NEW proposal by the end of this week and a new concept map and all of that other sh*t. Loading 8 weeks of RP work, planning and source collection ontop of other year 12 assignments is the most fun thing ever. I mean, it's no pressure at all considering that if I fail this topic I don't get my SACE. Loving school life right now.
I have managed to complete my research proposal which can be found uploaded below. As well as the proposal, I have also highlighted on a seperate page the capabilities I think will be associated with this project.
Week 8 mfjknvkcn My topic suicide is apparently pending approval which is not such great news. It's week 8, nearing the end of the first term, and there's suddenly a chance that I might have to change my topic. Quite unfair really. This means that everything I've done has possibly lead up to nothing if I change my topic now. Boo, I definately do not want to change topics - especially this late throughout the term.
Week 6
This week in the Research Project, I was away for half the lessons as I was sick. This will probably pull me behind the project but I intend to catch up. Asking my friends what I missed out on was helpful. It turns out I didn't miss out much. Things I missed out on were; a video of the assessment criteria or something and getting reading for our formal discussion with the teacher sometime in week 7.
In this discussion, we will be recorded and marked on based on what evidence we can provide of our learning and progress. I plan on talking about my proposal and each key point, the method I will use to get my information, the information I have already gathered and why I chose them and general communication skills with other people through email.
This weekend, I aim to practice my questions which the teacher may ask me during the discussion and collect more evidence of my learning.
I have also edited my interview questions which I will be using for interviews with specialists.
Week 5
Didn't gain new research skills this week. The stuff being taught this year is basically a repeat of last year and I'd rather not waste my lessons going over stuff I already know. Instead of re-editted my proposal adding some new things in and taking stuff out. It can be seen in the document below.
After a general discussion about how year 12 was going in homegroup, my home group teacher Dr. Hewitson says we aren't even meant to be keeping a journal, instead we are meant to discuss the methodology that we are intending to follow in regards to our research project. She says these discussions are to be of formal language instead of journal-type language where it is like a conversation.
I am quite confused and I believe my grade and outcome of the research project may be jeopardized but I will pursue on getting feedback that will hopefully clarify what is meant to be happening and what steps I am meant to take to ensure I become successful and not have to repeat this again next semester ..
Week 4
This week in the research project, the main research skills I've learnt is the 5 whys concept which helps me get a deeper understanding of what I want to research.
Here is my 5 why's concept on my topic teenage suicide.
1. Why do teenagers suicide? - because they can't handle their current issues and want to get away from it all.
2. Why can't they handle their current issues? - because they range from a variety of problem; family, friends, being bullied, feeling worthless.
3. Why are family, friends and being bullied a source of the issue? - because of family expectations, domestic violence, peer pressure and conflict.
4. Why are these issues the case? - because individuals come from a variety of cultures and make certain friends; these may all put pressure on the individual thus influencing suicide.
5. Why do people put pressure on individuals? - because they want the individual to be either successful, want to fit in or want discipline.
Those are my 5 why's. I personally didn't find it helpful and so I will probably not use this method to get a deeper understanding of what I want to research.
This week, we were also told to prepare survey questions and organize interviews for our primary sources. I still have not been able to book any times but will endeavour in the upcoming weeks to do so.
We were also informed that in week 7 or something, there will be a day off for year 12's to have an interview with their teacher to discuss their research topic. I am still not sure what this means but hopefully the teacher will continue to update me and make things a bit clearer.
Another research skill I have developed is designing a concept map. From this concept map, I may have come up with my 4 focus questions and how I will answer them
Week 3
This week in the research project, I focused mainly on finishing my research proposal. This was quite easy as I had a clear path I wanted to take. I took a look at some of the examples on the SACE website and generated my personal proposal based on the SACE layout - with a bit of modifications.
This week, the research skills I've learnt are:
CRAP system - credibility (who is it written by? what education do they have and do they have any qualifications?), reliability (how reliable is this source based on credibility? How relevant is this to my research?), authority (who is the author? Is there an author or is this a public page where anyone can edit like wikipedia? what is their position?) and purpose (what is the purpose of this source? is it an organisation or a profit making business? refer to the end of the URL e.g. .net, .org, com.
Who, what, when, why, how - This was a way of generating 4 or 5 focus questions. Who does this affect? What is it? When did this occur? Why is it happening and how is it happening and affecting the community?
Those two things were the main things I learnt this week in the Research Project and I am hoping to apply them to my research project. The CRAP system should be really effective in evaluating my sources for credibility.
This week, I have also managed to finish my research proposal. Refer to the word document below:
Overall, my progress is quite good. I still need to generate a suitable hypothesis for my research project and I plan on doing it next week after further thoughts. Week 2 In the first lesson of week 2, we had to prepare a research proposal before the end of the week. My research proposal will probably be based on the topic suicide. As mentioned in last weeks journal entries, my primary sources of information will probably come from psychologist, counsellors and possibly social workers. I may also decide to survey groups of people to get their opinions on this topic. I will have to think of some questions if I decide to do so.
Another task that was assigned to us was to search up 5 news articles using the schools subscription - EBSCOHOST. It isn't working very well at the moment.
In Thursday's lesson, we basically continued to find articles from EBSCOHOST and write short summaries on them. I have already found my five that may be useful for my project. As I have found my five articles, I decided to get a head start on my research proposal - my topic, my possible guiding questions, primary sources of information and my research methods. I plan on presenting my research project in the essay format as I would like this project to contribute to my ATAR score.
Next week, I plan on submitting my research proposal and hopefully start some research. I will also need to arrange interview times with professionals and find other sources of information.
I'm quite happy with my progress so far and hope my use of lesson time is consistent in the future as this is a compulsory subject that needs to get a C grade or better to complete my SACE.
Week 1
This week in the Research Project, I joined this wikispace. In class, I started brainstorming some ideas on what I would like to do my project on. Some of the ideas I came up with were:
single sex school education - does it influence performance?
cyber bullying
suicide in the society
These topics were interesting to me thus sparking an interest in regards to the my project. The research skills I obtained in our first lesson was how to use the wonderwheel. This was probably a main high light for me as I have never even heard of it let alone use it. This made finding a topic much easier as it narrowed down broad topics. I will likely to use this feature more often for future project. Below is a print screen of me executing the wonderwheel searching for topics about single sex education and if it influences academic performance or not.
I am still not sure if I would like to do this topic as my research project and am still in the progress of finding something else that interests me. In our second lesson, the class went to the library to look at books regarding issues in the society. They weren't particularly helpful to me as I wasn't interested in those topics but would have been a great starting point for me if I hadn't had my own ideas. There were many topics that related with individuals, environmental issues, society issues and many others.
After a lot of thought on what I would like to have as my project, I am leaning towards the suicide in society topic. That is most likely going to be the topic I choose as it interests me why people suicide, what causes people to want to carry out this act and what help is available for those planning on doing do. I am still thinking of where to get my primary sources from - they will probably be from psychologists, counsellors and social workers.
Next week, I am to have a clearer pathway in which I will be heading. Hopefully I can dig up some information on suicide and find recent news articles regarding this topic.
Week 10
This week, I have decided to take a different pathway to my research project outcome. Initially I planned on doing an academic research essay/report but now after understanding my options aren't just limitted to an essay or a report, I have decided to do something much more engaging and requires creative thinking. As in year 12, majority of my research tasks will be in the essay/report format, I have decided to use the research project as an opportunity to create something that I normally wouldn't be able to in other subjects - a magazine. My magazine will be based on anxiety disorders and will be designed for a teenage audience (context). I will aim to have 1500 words in this magazine so this will really test my text-condensing ability; only having the critical and key ideas in this magazine. My current plan is:
1. Front page - title page
2. Contents page - list of what is in the magazine itself which will not be included in the 1500 word count.
3. Explanation of anxiety and its effect on brain.
4. Generalised Anxiety disorders - what is it, symptoms
5. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - what is it, symptoms
6. Phobias - what is it, symptoms
7. Post traumatic stress disorder - what is it, symptoms
8. Statistical graphs on each of the anxiety disorders
9. List of techniques to reduce Anxiety
10. List of support agencies
That is my rough plan and I will need to start filling each of the documents with the corresponding information and research.
My current main source of information will be from www.beyondblue.org and www.youthbeyondblue.com - these two sites are extremely helpful and have a reputation of spreading awareness of depression and anxiety amongst youths and adults alike. This is where i got the 4 different types of anxiety disorders (refer to 4,5,6,7 above)
As my research path has changed yet again, I will need to edit my proposal and keep it regulary updated. I will also need to start documenting my research outcome process and I will start by designing the outline of my magazine.
Week 9
This week I have changed my topic from Suicide to Anxiety Disorders. My suicide methodoligy was unethical and it would be too time consuming for me to chase up a teacher to modify my topic around which would eventually be something I'm not interested in. Therefore, instead of potentially modifying it to something I'm not interested in and wasting more time, I decided to changed my topic to Anxiety Disorders. It's something that is interesting to me and can relate to the real world in education and work environment. So in initiating the new topic and planning, I have developed a brief plan which I have uploaded below.
I'm quite annoyed. I'm back to square 1 in my research and there is 2 weeks until the first draft it due. I honestly don't know how I am going to cope. I honestly would rather do another half year subject instead of the RP.
So here is my brief plan. I will need to come up with a NEW proposal by the end of this week and a new concept map and all of that other sh*t. Loading 8 weeks of RP work, planning and source collection ontop of other year 12 assignments is the most fun thing ever. I mean, it's no pressure at all considering that if I fail this topic I don't get my SACE. Loving school life right now.
I have managed to complete my research proposal which can be found uploaded below. As well as the proposal, I have also highlighted on a seperate page the capabilities I think will be associated with this project.
Week 8
mfjknvkcn My topic suicide is apparently pending approval which is not such great news. It's week 8, nearing the end of the first term, and there's suddenly a chance that I might have to change my topic. Quite unfair really. This means that everything I've done has possibly lead up to nothing if I change my topic now. Boo, I definately do not want to change topics - especially this late throughout the term.
PROPOSAL REUPLOADED BELOW THE SURVEY
Week 7
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22C2XPGP6EU/
PROPOSAL:
Week 6
This week in the Research Project, I was away for half the lessons as I was sick. This will probably pull me behind the project but I intend to catch up. Asking my friends what I missed out on was helpful. It turns out I didn't miss out much. Things I missed out on were; a video of the assessment criteria or something and getting reading for our formal discussion with the teacher sometime in week 7.
In this discussion, we will be recorded and marked on based on what evidence we can provide of our learning and progress. I plan on talking about my proposal and each key point, the method I will use to get my information, the information I have already gathered and why I chose them and general communication skills with other people through email.
This weekend, I aim to practice my questions which the teacher may ask me during the discussion and collect more evidence of my learning.
I have also edited my interview questions which I will be using for interviews with specialists.
Week 5
Didn't gain new research skills this week. The stuff being taught this year is basically a repeat of last year and I'd rather not waste my lessons going over stuff I already know. Instead of re-editted my proposal adding some new things in and taking stuff out. It can be seen in the document below.
After a general discussion about how year 12 was going in homegroup, my home group teacher Dr. Hewitson says we aren't even meant to be keeping a journal, instead we are meant to discuss the methodology that we are intending to follow in regards to our research project. She says these discussions are to be of formal language instead of journal-type language where it is like a conversation.
I am quite confused and I believe my grade and outcome of the research project may be jeopardized but I will pursue on getting feedback that will hopefully clarify what is meant to be happening and what steps I am meant to take to ensure I become successful and not have to repeat this again next semester ..
Week 4
This week in the research project, the main research skills I've learnt is the 5 whys concept which helps me get a deeper understanding of what I want to research.
Here is my 5 why's concept on my topic teenage suicide.
1. Why do teenagers suicide? - because they can't handle their current issues and want to get away from it all.
2. Why can't they handle their current issues? - because they range from a variety of problem; family, friends, being bullied, feeling worthless.
3. Why are family, friends and being bullied a source of the issue? - because of family expectations, domestic violence, peer pressure and conflict.
4. Why are these issues the case? - because individuals come from a variety of cultures and make certain friends; these may all put pressure on the individual thus influencing suicide.
5. Why do people put pressure on individuals? - because they want the individual to be either successful, want to fit in or want discipline.
Those are my 5 why's. I personally didn't find it helpful and so I will probably not use this method to get a deeper understanding of what I want to research.
This week, we were also told to prepare survey questions and organize interviews for our primary sources. I still have not been able to book any times but will endeavour in the upcoming weeks to do so.
We were also informed that in week 7 or something, there will be a day off for year 12's to have an interview with their teacher to discuss their research topic. I am still not sure what this means but hopefully the teacher will continue to update me and make things a bit clearer.
Another research skill I have developed is designing a concept map. From this concept map, I may have come up with my 4 focus questions and how I will answer them
Week 3
This week in the research project, I focused mainly on finishing my research proposal. This was quite easy as I had a clear path I wanted to take. I took a look at some of the examples on the SACE website and generated my personal proposal based on the SACE layout - with a bit of modifications.
This week, the research skills I've learnt are:
Those two things were the main things I learnt this week in the Research Project and I am hoping to apply them to my research project. The CRAP system should be really effective in evaluating my sources for credibility.
This week, I have also managed to finish my research proposal. Refer to the word document below:
The Capabilities chart is also attached below - where I have highlighted the capabilities that my research project will cover.
Overall, my progress is quite good. I still need to generate a suitable hypothesis for my research project and I plan on doing it next week after further thoughts.
Week 2
In the first lesson of week 2, we had to prepare a research proposal before the end of the week. My research proposal will probably be based on the topic suicide. As mentioned in last weeks journal entries, my primary sources of information will probably come from psychologist, counsellors and possibly social workers. I may also decide to survey groups of people to get their opinions on this topic. I will have to think of some questions if I decide to do so.
Another task that was assigned to us was to search up 5 news articles using the schools subscription - EBSCOHOST. It isn't working very well at the moment.
Pridmore, S n.d., Suicide by couples on public record, EBSCOHOST, accessed 24 February 2011, http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?hid=14&sid=65fde353-8aaf-4c45-960c-28420485b94a%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=anh&AN=53875869.
- couples that suicide. This article interested me because it gave a brief examples on who suicides and why. In this case, this was couples who have suicided because of personal issues amongst them, social issues and may other issues.
Pridmore, S n.d., Two cases of 'type 3' suicide, EBSCOHOST, accessed 24 February 2011, http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?hid=14&sid=58c32f79-0ba9-4b8e-9847-b205e6549fab%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=anh&AN=53875876. -this article interested me because the title of it was 'Two cases of TYPE 3 suicide'. This gets me wondering if in the psychological context, if there are different types of assessments for suicide.
Jiunn, Y n.d., Suicide in psychiatric patients: case-control study in Singapore., EBSCOHOST, accessed 24 February 2011, http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?hid=14&sid=1cdb20ad-74b2-41e3-aa9e-fb003ac16ff6%40sessionmgr4&vid=1&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=anh&AN=33299900. - this article interests me because it lists some mental illnesses that risk individual sufferers from attempting suicide.
Aljendara, A n.d., Suicide-Related Events in Patients Treated with Antiepileptic Drugs., EBSCOHOST, accessed 24 February 2011, http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?hid=22&sid=44b51bf5-fc78-4f21-99b4-f5f29abc0a89%40sessionmgr13&vid=1&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=anh&AN=52798841.
- I chose this article because it lists some risk factors that increase the chance of people attempting suicide - drugs. This may have something to do with the chemicals that are in the brain and send out different messages to each individuals.
Annette, L n.d., Removing bridge barriers stimulates suicides: an unfortunate natural experiment., EBSCOHOST, accessed 24 February 2011, http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?hid=22&sid=908aca93-daa2-4475-996b-6b787d021fe0%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=anh&AN=39453032.
- Finally, this article was chosen because it tells me what people are doing to reduce the rate of suicide attempts - examples include restricting unauthorised entry to high building tops, sealingo off any other high areas such as bridges.
In Thursday's lesson, we basically continued to find articles from EBSCOHOST and write short summaries on them. I have already found my five that may be useful for my project. As I have found my five articles, I decided to get a head start on my research proposal - my topic, my possible guiding questions, primary sources of information and my research methods. I plan on presenting my research project in the essay format as I would like this project to contribute to my ATAR score.
Next week, I plan on submitting my research proposal and hopefully start some research. I will also need to arrange interview times with professionals and find other sources of information.
I'm quite happy with my progress so far and hope my use of lesson time is consistent in the future as this is a compulsory subject that needs to get a C grade or better to complete my SACE.
Week 1
This week in the Research Project, I joined this wikispace. In class, I started brainstorming some ideas on what I would like to do my project on. Some of the ideas I came up with were:
These topics were interesting to me thus sparking an interest in regards to the my project. The research skills I obtained in our first lesson was how to use the wonderwheel. This was probably a main high light for me as I have never even heard of it let alone use it. This made finding a topic much easier as it narrowed down broad topics. I will likely to use this feature more often for future project. Below is a print screen of me executing the wonderwheel searching for topics about single sex education and if it influences academic performance or not.
I am still not sure if I would like to do this topic as my research project and am still in the progress of finding something else that interests me. In our second lesson, the class went to the library to look at books regarding issues in the society. They weren't particularly helpful to me as I wasn't interested in those topics but would have been a great starting point for me if I hadn't had my own ideas. There were many topics that related with individuals, environmental issues, society issues and many others.
After a lot of thought on what I would like to have as my project, I am leaning towards the suicide in society topic. That is most likely going to be the topic I choose as it interests me why people suicide, what causes people to want to carry out this act and what help is available for those planning on doing do. I am still thinking of where to get my primary sources from - they will probably be from psychologists, counsellors and social workers.
Next week, I am to have a clearer pathway in which I will be heading. Hopefully I can dig up some information on suicide and find recent news articles regarding this topic.
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15